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8/14/2019 Bridging the Budget Gap Intro and Handout
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METNY Leadership ConferenceMarch 18, 2009
Session: Bridging the Budget Gap
The “Bridging the Budget Session” was presented by Lisa Harris Glass, theExecutive Director of the New Jersey Region of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Lisa had previously served in the international Board of Governors and local Board of the North American Association of SynagogueExecutives (NAASE). Lisa has received NAASE’s professional accreditation,Fellow in Synagogue Administration.
This session was attended by approx. 25 representatives from METNY Region
synagogues. Items discussed included, but were not limited to examining newavenues for synagogue income, development of a strategic plan for alternativeincome sources, examining of your synagogue’s current staffing, utilizing
previously restricted synagogue funds to “Bridge the Gap”, reaching out to your more influential members for additional “assistance”, multi-synagoguecollaboration for programming and facing the possible realities of mergers.
The session, scheduled for 90 minutes, could have gone on for hours.
I was also made clear by Lisa, that should any synagogue have questions relative tothis subject, they should feel free to call her directly.
Albert Jay KrullMETNY Vice PresidentModerator
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Bridging the Budget Gap:201
Facilitator: Lisa Harris Glass, FSAExecutive Director The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
New Jersey Region1090 King Georges Post RoadSuite 1003Edison, New Jersey 08837(732) [email protected]
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SEASON
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13 THINGS TO CONSIDER – OLD SCHOOL
A. REVIEW EVERYTHING:
1. Send items out for quotes. Even long term vendors. It keeps them ontheir toes and assures your membership that you are seekingcompetitive pricing.
Printing, insurance, telephone, gas, credit card processing fees,landscarping, copier and postage machine leases, office supplies,security, extermination servies, preventative maintenance contracts for HVAC. Have you looked into rebates for energy efficient lighting,insulation, etc. Kiddushes.
2. Have you attempted to renegotiate any mortgages or loans that thesynagogue has.
3. What unrealized income do you possess?
Cemetery plots, yahrzeit plaques, simcha wall plaques, tree of life.
4. Your fee structure.Dues, Tuition, bar/bat mitzvah fee. Are you competitive?What add-ons are a possibility for you?
B. EXPLORE NEW AVENUES:
1. Get some O.P.M. (Other People’s Money).a. Scrip - Scrip is a substitute for money in the form of negotiable
certificates or cards that can be used like cash to purchase products or services from merchants who have issued them.Scrip can be used to purchase anything from groceries, fuel,
clothing, toys and cosmetics to entertainment, electronics, homeimprovement, or household services. (What is the potential of
such a program? If a family spends an average of $300 per month on groceries through the scrip program that would
provide a benefit to your synagouge of $15.00 (or 5%). Over three months that’s $45. Over a year that’s $180. Multiply that
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times 200 families and that’s $36,000 at no cost to thesynagogue or extra cost to the person.)
b. U-promise or www.we-care.comc. Virtual Auctiond. Underwrite items out of your budgete. TD BANK Affinity Program
2. Can you conduct a large campaign to create an endowment fund?
3. Are you untilizing planned giving vehicles such as Wills & Bequests?
4. Fund raisers. Let’s talk . . . .
5. Maximize what you are already doing. High Holy Day Appeal. Startnow.
6. Have you taken advantage of USCJ programs to reduce costs or bring inmoney like the ADP program, Staples, Web Hosting.
The United Synagogue of Conservative JudaismBudgeting 201
by Lisa Harris Glass, FSA; Executive Director, New Jersey Region
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THE NEW REALITY
A: THINGS TO CONSIDER
1. “Doing more with less.” A familiar refrain but is it realistic? The real
question is how do we “do less with less?” This is a strategic question
about what programs to keep, and do them as efficiently and effectively
as possible, and what programs to exit, close, or transfer to someone
else.
2. If you have to trim, trim back to your mission.
a. Spend time discussing your mission and connecting with
stakeholders.
b. Engage the board and staff in a discussion about the
organization’s mission.
i. Ask what has changed in your area or field.
ii. Review your mission. Does it still respond to today’s needs and
environment?
iii. Evaluate each activity or program as it relates to and
contributes to the mission.
iv. Evaluate the impact and quality of the progams and services you
offer:
-- What do you do best?
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-- Which programs are of unique value to the community?
3. Set priorities and make choices. Assess your programs and make the
tough, but necessary choices.
Low contribution to
Mission
High contribution to
Mission
Low use of
Resources
Is this a fit? Keep or expand?
High use of
Resources
Needs to be
reconsidered
or eliminated
Core services -
Can it be done differently
for less?
4. Develop strategies, with four basic categories:
a. Do the same work with less
b. Do the same with new funding
c. Do less of the work
d. Do the work differently. Many effective changes start with a new
idea or approach.
The United Synagogue of Conservative JudaismBudgeting 201
by Lisa Harris Glass, FSA; Executive Director, New Jersey Region
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B: WHAT TO DO
a. Have you sought Board permission to use any and all available funds
belonging to the synagogue to get through the rough time. Ask donors who
are giving restricted gifts if they are willing to unrestrict usable monies or
even a portion of the corpus of the fund for 2009. Afterall, what happens
to the restricted gift when the synagogue closes due to insolvency?
Consider asking past donors to make payments earlier of previously-made
pledges.
2. Staffing:
a. Have you reassessed staffing and elminated or reduced non-
essential personnel. (Board exercise: define non-essential)
b. Have you frozen or reduced staff salaries. (How do you approach
contractual staff on this topic?)
The United Synagogue of Conservative JudaismBudgeting 201
by Lisa Harris Glass, FSA; Executive Director, New Jersey Region
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c. Have you investigated outsourcing services (such as bookkeeping
and/or custodial services).
3. Reach out to influential members (some jobs are recession proof):
a. Make sure you have a strong message that you can communicate
easily, in writing and verbally, both to use with donors and with
the public at-large. BE POSITIVE to the mission and the future.
People support winners. Know why your mission is worth saving.
b. Keep your key funders in the loop (they should not find out what
is going on through the grapevine!)
c. Would they be interested in paying for specific programs to
remove costs from the budget.
d. Who could you borrow from?
4. Obtain credit lines from the bank while they are available and USE
THEM. (Some banks are closing lines that are in place but not used. If
you think you have a credit line you should check to make sure your
bank has not recalled it.)
5. Get out of the box:
a. Reconsider how programs are delivered.
The United Synagogue of Conservative JudaismBudgeting 201
by Lisa Harris Glass, FSA; Executive Director, New Jersey Region
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b. Could you collaborate with other organizations on programs.
(lecture series, adult ed) Don’t be afraid to try. Joint ventures can be
a great thing for your organization and its long term viability. Joint
grant writing.
d. Share staff. (Could you share IT, bookeeper?)
e. Save dollars by outsourcing programs instead of using staff. (Could
you outsource some administrative work, cleaning and custodial?)
f. Develop new revenue sources from contracts or earned income
ventures. (Initiate earned income ventures that fit with your
organization’s mission. For example, HVAC, phone, after-school
bridge program, summer camp, school break programs.)
g. Ask allied organizations to take over programs that are a low-
priority fit with your mission. Inform that agency that you are
stopping that service so it can pick up the ball. (social worker,
nurse, etc.) It is important to use communal resources wisely.
h. Don’t be afraid to ask for anything you need. Whether it’s an in-
kind donation, or to a contributor that said “no” the first time.
c. Consider mergers - If it becomes necessary to merge
the organization to keep the programs alive, this might
be the time to take that action. Could you merge your
schools (preschool, religious school, hebrew high school),
share your building and thereby your overhead costs?
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i. Could you barter? Directly – membership for x; or indirectly. What
businesses are your members in? Would a member accountant take
on the accounting of the your landscaping company so the
landscaper can donate their service to the temple?
j. Look for creative and innovative ways to raise money.
6. Put new initiatives on the back burner… unless you know how you will pay
for them in a sustainable way.
7. If you were planning a capital campaign, consider moving back its starting
date; if your capital campaign is in progress, consider a temporary pause in
making requests.
8. Develop contingency plans for different budget models (e.g. 10%, 25%
cutback budgets) so you have a back-up plan if past funding sources don’t
come through. Use cost/benefit analysis to determine what to reduce and
what to maintain.
9. Communicate with board and staff about what is going on.
10.Use volunteers wherever you can.
The United Synagogue of Conservative JudaismBudgeting 201
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Non-profit Harvest newsletters November 26, December 9 and 15, 2009
NY Nonprofit Executive Directors Network Newsletter Sunday, November
16, 2008
Managing People.blogsport.com/November 5, 2008
www.ccl.org/eadership/enewsletter/2002
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Budgeting 201by Lisa Harris Glass, FSA; Executive Director, New Jersey Region